About

$4,620

pledged of $3,600 goal

83

backers

What we are doing.

The Vienna Projectis creating an interactive digital map to educate and engage people in the legacy of the Holocaust on the streets of Vienna. We are calling this project Mapping 1938 Vienna. To create the map, Viennese artist Nikolaus Gansterer will first develop an intricate, sculptural representation Vienna’s urban layout (see initial design sketches below). Then through high-quality photography, we will transform Nikolaus's 3-D art piece into a dynamic and original digital map that will be housed on our website. This map will be used to highlight 38 Holocaust memory zones around the city.

Preparatory sketch by Nikolaus Gansterer for the design of Mapping 1938 Vienna

Nikolaus Gansterer at work

To select these sites, we will be working with historians and students at the University of Vienna. They will be addresses where acts of Nazi discrimination, exclusion, violence, and humiliation took place between 1938 and 1945. Thirty eight of these addresses will then be chosen by community forums to become "memory zones.” Sites will be chosen to represent multiple victim groups of the Holocaust in Austria: Jews, Roma and Sinti, mentally and physically disabled, homosexuals, dissidents (communists, socialists and Christian Democrats), Slovenian partisans, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Conceptual sketch by Nikolaus Gansterer for the design of Mapping 1938 Vienna

At the intersection of art and history, we believe Mapping 1938 Vienna represents a new way for the public to preserve and engage with the legacy of the Holocaust. Each digital memory zone on the map will display fresh research -both text and image - so that the map will serves as an educational tool for people around the world. People in Vienna will also be able to use Smartphone apps that will be integrated into our map to lead you on a tour of the 38 sites.

Part of Nikolaus's design process for Mapping 1938 Vienna exploring the fabric of memory

Who we are.

The Vienna Project is a groundbreaking new Holocaust remembrance project that will be the first memorial in Europe to symbolically represent multiple groups of victims of National Socialism and the Holocaust, the named and the nameless on record, within a given country murdered between 1938 and 1945. This international project is being developed by Massachusetts-based artist and professor Karen Frostig whose grandparents and sixteen members of her family were victims of the Holocaust.

Artistic Director and Developer, Karen Frostig

The Vienna Project is dedicated to stimulating fresh conversations in novel formats regarding the Holocaust in Austria through public engagement. It will mark the 75th anniversary of the annexation of Austria into greater Germany in 1938 and unfold over the course of twelve months in the streets of Vienna in the form of video projections, performance art, street installations, photography, and videography. Mapping 1938 Vienna will be an integral part of The Vienna Project’s overall mission.

To make this all happen, we are working with some great partners including The University of Applied Arts (Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien), the Wien Museum, the Jewish Museum Wien, the Wiesenthal Institute, Austrian Cultural Forum in New York City, and more. We also have a number of distinguishedboard members to ensure the integrity and accuracy of our project, including Nobel Prize laureates Elie Wiesel and Walter Kohn, who are both survivors of the Holocaust; Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat, Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State on Holocaust-Era Issues under the Clinton Administration; and Wolfgang M. Paul, former Austrian Ambassador to Israel.

How you can help.

We need your support to make The Vienna Project all that it can be. There are two BIG things you can do to help:

Donate! If you can, please donate. We are offering a number of original artistic pieces designed by some of our talented project partners as rewards so check them out! We are aiming to raise $3,600 with this campaign that will go towards compensating our project creators for their work, photographing of the map to create a digital image on our website, and development of the apps. This is the minimum we need to move forward but we can use much more than this! If we don’t raise at least $3,600, you don’t pay anything and we don’t get any of the donations - so you’re help is essential!

Spread the word! Even if you can’t donate you can still help us get our project known. If you find what we are doing important and interesting please share it with people you know: email it, tweet it, post it, blog it, whatever! And don’t forget to follow The Vienna Project on Facebook and Twitter for project updates.

Why this is important.

Representing the human capacity to care, memory is the antithesis of genocide, brutality and indifference. The Vienna Project is about creating a public engagement with the difficult history of the Holocaust in unique ways. Mapping 1938 Vienna epitomizes this goal: it will enable people to interact with the memory that echoes around them in Vienna through art and technology. The mapping project will be housed digitally on our website so as not to be forgotten and to remain accessible to all – even to those not in Austria.

The research aimed at identifying the 38 Holocaust memory zones around the city will also make possible additional parts of The Vienna Project. The researched street addresses will be physically labeled on the sidewalks of Vienna and spray painted with the tag “What happens when we forget to remember?” in different languages. These sites will be used in the education program by students, as well as by artists as sites for new representations of memory. A schedule of planned performances at these memory zones will be posted on the project website, and a printable map to provide a walking tour of the specified sites will be available as a download.

Design for one of the Memory Zone sidewalk markers

When it will happen.

Research on the 38 zones will commence in March of 2013 with the help of Professor Hans Safrian (Institute for Contemporary History, University of Vienna). Design of the map will also start in spring 2013 and initial designs will be completed by June 2013. We will integrate the research and finalized map design and unveil the final version to the public on our website by the official commencement of The Vienna Project’s activities in the streets of Vienna: October 24, 2013 – two days before Austrian National Day.

Reward descriptions.

Check out the amazing rewards available at the different donation levels to the right. Below we have posted some images and additional descriptions to give you a better idea of some of the original rewards we are offering.

Stickers.4 x 4 inch vinyl stickers featuring stark black and white text of
The Vienna Project ("erinnerung" means "memory" in German). You get two of these at every reward level,
one for you and one to share!

The Vienna Project sticker image

Original Vienna Postcards.
Karen will be creating original 4 x 6 inch postcards from the city of Vienna inspired by the themes of Street Art, Jewish History, and Hidden Places. These are being made exclusively for the Kickstarter campaign Each postcard will feature a high quality, original photograph by Karen on the front and a quote relevant to a related theme on the back. Karen will be making a total of 24 different postcards: 8 different cards for each of the three themes.

Collage of a selection of anticipated postcard designs

Prints.
We are offering your choice of a high-quality, 9 x 12 inch prints on archival paper of one of three original art pieces by either Karen or Nikolaus. The three prints available are entitled "Juden Raus," "The Topology of Memory," and "City of Memory."

Three original prints

Hand-crafted stencil book.
We have five of these original, hand-made accordion-style stencil books designed by Vienna Project partner and Viennese artist Waltraud Jungwirth. These are being made exclusively for the Kickstarter campaign. The books are 5 x 5 inches and 28 pages long. They have a hard cover and feature different stencils designed by Waltraud of the street text that will be used for the memory zones on the sidewalks of Vienna.

Stencil accordion book

Memory stencil. Karen Frostig has designed these hefty 9 x 24 inch metal stencils featuring either the word "MEMORY"or "ERINNERUNG" ("memory" in German). Your stencil will be spray painted by hand before being shipped to you.

The two metal stencils before being painted

An example of a spray painted stencil

FAQs

How does Kickstarter work? We propose our project and you decide if you want to contribute. If we reach our funding goal of at least $3,600 then we get to keep the money we’ve raised and you get rewards. If we fall short of the goal, nobody gets anything! You only pay if the fundraising project is successful, so don’t wait!

Where can I find out more about The Vienna Project?
You can visit our website at www.theviennaproject.org where you can find more details on the project. You can also follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Can I donate from Europe?
Yes! Click that button! Notice that on some reward items we have requested small additional donations to help offset overseas shipping costs. We appreciate your cooperation!

What if you raise more money than what you’re aiming for?
If we raise more than $3,600 we will yell THANK YOU! $3,600 is only a small amount of the total we can for the entire The Vienna Project so additional donations are more than welcome!

How will I be updated about the progress of Mapping 1938 Vienna and the rest of The Vienna Project?
You can find updates on our website, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. We also encourage you to sign up for our newsletter through our website and to read our blog!

How can I contact you?
You can send us a message on our website contact page at any time if you want additional information.

Risks and challenges

We have very well established partnerships with numerous cultural and educational organizations in Austria and the United States to better ensure the success and quality of our project. We are working closely with our dedicated partners to design Mapping 1938 Vienna and we have received approval from the Viennese city government to proceed with street installations in the fall of 2013. So we have the people, we have the plan, we have the ideas, we just need the resources! A successful fundraising campaign will go a long way to make sure we can make this happen!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

You get everything at the $10 reward level PLUS an original postcard designed by project developer and artist Karen Frostig exclusively for the Kickstarter campaign that will feature an original photograph from the city of Vienna and a quote evoking themes from Mapping 1938 Vienna (check out the images to the left under Reward Descriptions). This will be sent to you personally by Karen from Vienna!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $60 or more
About $60

You get everything at the $10 level PLUS a high-quality 9 x 12 inch print of your choice of one of three original pieces of art by artists Karen Frostig or Nikolaus Gansterer on archival quality paper (check out the images to the left under Reward Descriptions). You will also receive a personal thank you email from Karen.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

You get everything at the $10 level PLUS a thematic set of 8 original postcards designed by Karen Frostig exclusively for the Kickstarter campaign that will feature original photographs from the city of Vienna and quotes evoking themes from the Mapping 1938 Vienna. You choose from a set of original postcards inspired by the theme of street art, Jewish history, or hidden places in Vienna (check out the images to the left under Reward Descriptions). You will also receive a personal thank you email from Karen.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

You get everything at the $10 and $60 levels PLUS all three sets of original postcards designed by Karen Frostig exclusively for our Kickstarter campaign. These will feature original photographs from the city of Vienna and quotes evoking the themes of Jewish history, street art, and hidden places in Vienna. This is a total of 24 original postcards! You will also receive a personal thank you email from Karen.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

You will get everything at the $10 and $60 levels PLUS an original, hand-made accordion-style image book designed by Vienna Project partner and Viennese artist Waltraud Jungwirth (check out the image to the left). The books are 5 x 5 inches and feature 28 pages of unique stencil designs for the text that will be used for our sidewalk Memory Zones. You will also have a one-on-one Skype conversation with project developer Karen Frostig to talk about the project and receive a personal thank you.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

You will get everything at the $10 and $60 levels PLUS an original 9 x 24 inch metal stencil designed by Karen Frostig (check out the images to the left under Reward Descriptions). The stencil will be spray painted by hand similar to the image below. You will also have a one-on-one Skype conversation with project developer Karen Frostig to talk about the project and receive a personal thank you.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,500 or more
About $1,500

You get everything at the $10 and $250 levels PLUS one of the two original copies of artwork by Nikolaus Gansterer being offered as prints at the $60 dollar level. These are pieces created by Nikolaus as part of the design process for Mapping 1938 Vienna and will be signed by the artist. You will also receive a personal thank you email from Karen Frostig.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

You get everything at the $10 and $250 levels PLUS an original 20 by 30 inch painting in watercolor and mixed media by project developer and artist Karen Frostig inspired by a one-on-one Skype conversation with you touching on the theme of memory.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3,000 or more
About $3,000

You get everything at the $10, $60, $250, and $500 (stencil only) levels PLUS a personal one-hour tour by project partner and Viennese artist Nikolaus Gansterer of his studio in Vienna and a discussion of his artwork and involvement in Mapping 1938 Vienna (in German or English). (You will have to provide for your own transportation and accommodation if you are located outside of Vienna.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3,000 or more
About $3,000

You get everything at the $10, $60, $250, and $500 (stencil only) levels PLUS a personal two-hour tour of selected memory sites in Vienna with Vienna Project developer Karen Frostig (in English only). This can take place in mid-June 2013, the end of August 2013, the end of October 2013, or early May 2014 (You will have to provide for your own transportation and accommodation if you are located outside of Vienna.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10,000
About $10,000

A trip to Vienna to take part in the opening of The Vienna Project in October, 2013! We will cover your airfare from the United States or Europe and pay for up to $500 for your accommodation in Vienna. You will attend the public opening ceremony on October 24th and you will have the exclusive opportunity to spray paint one of the 38 selected sidewalk installation sites around the city. In addition, you get everything at the $10, $60, and $250 reward levels!